Monthly Archives: September 2008

There are two words I am learning to use correctly in context: football pitch. Both are strange in reference to the national pastime here in Scotland: football, or footie as it is affectionately known. We call it soccer in the … Continue reading →

When it came time to pack my bags for Scotland this past July there were many choices to make about what to bring, some of which Lisa found hard to understand. “Why do you want to bring a music stand? … Continue reading →

“We don’t sing that verse. It’s about the Scots.” “What do you mean you don’t sing that verse?” “We don’t sing it. We never sing it because its all about the Scots.” I was at the church Senior’s Group where … Continue reading →

Always on the lookout for products that will enhance our family life I was admiring a large car today. I was at a funeral about to climb into the “family car” for a ride to the crematorium. It was a … Continue reading →

Cousin Donald returned from Aberdeen yesterday. He’d spent the weekend there with some of his mates. Donald has “itchy feet.” Nothing to do with fungus, he just likes to travel. He bought a plane ticket this past Spring that allowed … Continue reading →

Scottish phrases continue to amuse me. In the midst of a Scottish monologue, often an unremitting stream of consciousness, I will hear one that is new to me, particularly comprehensible and uniquely descriptive, even if the words are new to … Continue reading →

“If you’ll excuse me, I have a scheduled video conference with my three year old son, it’s his birthday.” “By all means. Go ahead!” our guests encouraged me. I was late for an important date. It was Johnny’s third birthday … Continue reading →

“What are you doing next Thursday John?” “I’m free in the evening,” I said. “Do you want to go to the pub with us?” A good pub was on my list of “things to do in Scotland.” “Definitely, that sounds … Continue reading →

The T is a maligned creature in the Scots dialect. While it is often heard at the beginning of a word it rarely finds the tip of the tongue any other time. It is trapped, swallowed in the back of … Continue reading →

I’m pretty sure “slup” is not a word. The Scots have a remarkable creativity for inventing new words, or perhaps assembling fragments of other words to make new words that are uniquely descriptive of events, places and things. There are … Continue reading →